Chapter 342: Career Counseling

Harry felt as if a great stone had been lifted from his chest—he now had a covert plan to counter Donald, however implausible it sounded, it was better than helplessly watching everything unfold.

Yet, when he returned to the dorm and heard Ron complaining about "that white-haired one," he couldn't help but reflect: if he could cooperate with Elena, who had hurt Ron, just to stop Donald, then wouldn't he one day also cooperate with Donald to stop Yanayev?

"Did you see the notice?" Neville's voice interrupted Harry's thoughts. "Next week we have one-on-one career counseling."

Harry and Ron took the booklet and notice he handed them, which listed descriptions of various careers.

"I checked—it's all clustered together. We're all scheduled for next Monday afternoon," Neville said. "Do you have any ideal careers in mind?"

"I haven't decided yet," Harry said. "What about you?"

"I want to be an Auror," Neville said seriously. "Aurors need Transfiguration, Charms, and Potions—I'm doing reasonably well in all of them."

"Potions?" Ron made a pained face. "Guess I won't be your colleague then."

"But you could be his boss," Harry said. "The Auror Office Head doesn't need any of that—any idiot could do it."

"Don't underestimate English," Neville shook his head. "His selection as a backup for the Doctor Program means he used a Time-Turner in his youth—in other words, he was once a student as brilliant as Hermione and Percy."

"Though grades and ability aren't always linked, having no grades at all is absolutely unacceptable," Harry recalled his own performance in those classes, then patted Ron. "You need to study Potions hard—I'll help you."

"Harry, what are your plans?" Neville asked again. "Do you want to be an Auror?"

"I have other things to do," Harry evaded. "I'm not sure I'll have the time, but if everything stays calm, I'd be happy to become an Auror."

"The other things you mean—are they the Order?" Neville said. "Based on current experience, the ideal job for an Order leader is Headmaster of Hogwarts."

"The old bat will hand the Headmaster position to Gryffindor?" Ron sneered.

"Maybe by then, he won't have a choice," Harry thought of the Ministry's growing presence. "The Headmaster might even become a Ministry-appointed position by then."

The Ministry was slowly trying to interfere in every aspect of Hogwarts, and students were gradually becoming aware of it. The most obvious sign was that on the afternoon of their career counseling, Harry noticed Arnold was there too.

"Sit down, Potter," Professor McGonagall said cheerfully. "This session is to discuss your career ideas so we can decide which subjects you should continue studying in sixth and seventh year."

"Uh—" Harry hesitated, his gaze unconsciously flicking toward Arnold, who sat in the corner.

"Have you considered politics?" Arnold adjusted his glasses and interjected. "With your current reputation and resources, you could become Minister of Magic in less than thirty years."

McGonagall glanced at him, lips parting, then fell silent.

"Based on your preferred subjects, I can recommend different starting points. Perhaps you'd like to be an Auror—but that requires at least five NEWT certificates with 'Exceeds Expectations' or higher, plus a series of strict personality and aptitude tests. Even though we've relaxed the testing standards recently," Arnold said, "only Claster has been hired in the past three years."

Professor McGonagall gave a slight nod, offering a reassuring smile.

"Alternatively, I notice you took Muggle Studies and have a Muggle education background," Arnold tapped his clipboard with his pen. "You could choose the Muggle Artifacts Office—following Arthur's precedent, promotion to Head of Department shouldn't be difficult."

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat softly, and Arnold immediately changed the subject.

"Of course, if you still prefer fieldwork, you could become a Memory Charmer. This role doesn't involve Dark Magic, so there's no vetting. Plus, Memory Charmers often get seconded to the Department of Mysteries, where you can truly spread your wings."

"Perhaps…" Harry hesitated. "I haven't decided on joining the Ministry?"

"Then do you want to be Headmaster?" Arnold turned to McGonagall. "What are Hogwarts' standards for hiring professors again?"

"You just need to excel in one area, and the Headmaster must approve," Professor McGonagall answered automatically. "But Harry, do you really want to stay on as faculty?"

"I haven't decided yet," Harry admitted, embarrassed by his uncertainty.

"Are you planning to go to Gringotts or St. Mungo's? I think that would waste your talent," Arnold looked puzzled. "Or are you considering becoming a freelance wizard?"

"As far as I know, Fred and George opened a retail shop," McGonagall said slowly. "That's a decent job for them. Would you like something like that, Harry?"

"That's worse than being unemployed," Arnold shook his head. "At least the unemployed have a chance of becoming a Dark Lord."

Noticing Harry's expression had darkened, Professor McGonagall smoothed things over. "It's fine—if you haven't decided yet, take more time to think. I can meet with you privately at the end of term."

The conversation ended abruptly. Harry could tell Arnold desperately wanted him to join the Ministry, while McGonagall seemed unconcerned. Indeed, for Harry now, any career was open to him—but Arnold likely believed he needed to become Minister of Magic, to legitimize the act of "managing British magical society."

As Harry left the office, he ran straight into Snape.

"I've been waiting for you, Potter," Snape whispered. "We need to discuss Potions tutoring."

Harry's heart tightened instantly. He said nothing, following Snape silently—but Snape didn't head to the Potions classroom. He led Harry to the Headmaster's office.

"You didn't attend last week's meeting," Snape said slowly. "So you don't know what strange things happened."

"What happened?"

"William attended the meeting—and he seems intent on interfering in the Dark Lord election," Snape looked into Harry's eyes. "He proposed leaking the election's timing and location to the Order. He says the Dark Lord must establish authority."

"Establish authority?"

"Yes. We thought the White House didn't care about the Dark Lord, but we were wrong—they partially support him. William's point is that the strongest person should be chosen as Dark Lord. If we insist on using Nagini, we must find a way to make the chosen one appear powerful enough."

"True—the Dark Lord must have considerable power," Harry agreed. "But our stated reason for using Nagini is fear that Voldemort might return and resent the new Dark Lord. William can't refute that."

"Using Nagini to choose the new Dark Lord does reinforce the lie that 'Voldemort could return at any moment,'" Snape raised an eyebrow. "So if we want to refute and reject his so-called 'establish authority' proposal, the new Dark Lord must be someone like Delphi—mediocre in power but of great significance to the Dark Lord."

"Then we can still use our original plan," Harry said.

"Yes—but with your current Occlumency progress, I won't feel safe bringing you before William until next year," Snape said coldly. "He's weak, but the White House has plenty of experts."

"Uh, I'll work hard," Harry could only lower his head apologetically.

"We'll add Friday night sessions from now on," Snape said with finality. "You must appear before the Death Eaters by June."

"O-okay," Harry reluctantly agreed; he had no other commitments on Friday nights.

"Also, how is your Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Snape narrowed his eyes. "What do you think Bellatrix would do if she discovered Saruman truly exists? Especially since she now has a group of Saints under her command?"

Harry couldn't help but feel afraid. Though his record was impressive, upon closer inspection, his skill might still fall short of Ron's.

"You must understand the gravity," Snape said. "William's involvement means if you don't become the Dark Lord, the position will likely go to Delphi."

"I…" Harry's lips twitched—he couldn't guarantee success.

"Just do your best," Snape said, unusually gentle. "Even if Delphi becomes Dark Lord, it won't be catastrophic. It's just a pity we've planned so much only to hand it over."

When Harry returned to the dorm, Ron asked how the career counseling went. Harry sighed.

"McGonagall didn't say much, but Snape made it clear: if I want to be the Dark Lord, I need 'Exceeds Expectations' or higher in Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Beyond NEWT grades, I must demonstrate strong stress resilience and fluency in Parseltongue—all manageable. But I also need to learn Occlumency and advanced Dark Magic, and Snape is happy to tutor me in both…"